1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a tape squeezing device designed for folding back both side edge portions in a width direction of a strip form adhesive tape attached onto a work with running the side edge portions thereof over both lateral edges of the work to adhere the both side edge portions of the adhesive tape onto the work.
This application is based on Patent Application No. 9-318473 (1997) filed Nov. 19, 1997 in Japan, the content of which is incorporated hereinto by reference.
2. Description of the Related Art
Painting eggshell black on inside and outside of a door sash of an automotive vehicle is desirable for restricting reflection of light of the door sash as viewed externally, particularly from the side portion of a vehicle body to certainly provide a neat appearance not only an interior but also a whole vehicle body.
For this purpose, it has been conventionally performed to perform spray painting of delustering black paint on the door sash portion. However, spray painting encounters various problems as requiring investment for additional facility for maintaining work environment good enough, taking a long period for drying paint, and so forth. As a solution for such drawback, Japanese Patent Application Laying-open No. 51-135015 (1976) or Japanese Patent Application Laying-open No. 62-46780 (1987) proposes application of delustering black adhesive tape having high weather resistance and high wear resistance on a door sash portion, in place.
Normally, when such black adhesive tape is attached onto the door sash, both side edge portions in the width direction of the adhesive tape run over the lateral edges of the work extending longitudinal direction. Therefore, during finishing work squeezing process, in which the side edge portions in the width direction of the adhesive tape are folded back inwardly to adhere on the work, and, in conjuction therewith, bubble interpositioning occurs between the adhesive tape and the door sash.
As a device to be used for such squeezing process, there has been known a folding and adhering jig for the adhesive tape as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laying-open No. 9-132218 (1997). The jig is designed to operate a depression means mounted on a jig body to wrap guide forming means to a body, to which the adhesive tape is to be applied so that the adhesive tape is interfolded between the guide forming means and the body to be applied the adhesive tape.
The conventional folding and adhering jig disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 9-132218 (1997) has right-cut and left-cut corresponding to a right door and a left door of an automotive vehicle. Therefore, in case of sedan type passenger vehicle, four kinds of folding and adhering jigs adapted for front and rear, and left and right, namely four doors, have to be used to make squeezing process quite troublesome.
When the tape squeezing device is engaged to the door sash to move therealong, since the guide forming means, which has elasticity and is in contact with the door sash, difficulty is encountered in accurately setting the position of the folding and adhering jig relative the door sash. Particularly, it is possible to cause tilting, or pitching in motion direction to cause difficulty in folding the adhesive tape in good shape.
It is an object of the present invention to a tape squeezing device, which can convolute both side edge portions in a width direction of the adhesive tape relative to a left and right front door sash or rear door sash to fold back for accurately adhering thereonto, in a relatively easy and quick fashion without requiring a skilled worker.
A first aspect of the present invention is a tape squeezing device for folding back both side edge portions in a width direction of a strip form adhesive tape applied on a work to run the both side edge portions over both side end portions of the work, comprises:
a groove form recessed portion having a bottom wall portion and a pair of side wall portions extending from both sides in width direction and opposing to each other;
a pair of tilted surface portions arranged on both end sides in a longitudinal direction of the recessed portion and tilting in a longitudinal direction of the recessed portion to gradually reduce a height of the side wall portion from the bottom wall portion;
a main body formed with the tilted surface portions and the recessed portions;
an elastic sheet fixed to the main body and arranged along the recessed portion and the tilted surface portion, the elastic sheet having a cushion layer and a lubricating surface layer;
a pair of squeezing levers respectively held for reciprocal motion in opposing direction of the pair of side wall portions relative to the main body, the squeezing levers having tip ends located away from the bottom wall portion and being adapted to project into the recessed portion substantially in parallel to the bottom wall portion;
a bracket having a base end portion pivoted on the main body via a pin for pivot motion, the bracket having a tip end portion projecting from any one side of both ends in the longitudinal direction of the recessed portion; and
an adhesive tape guide roller rotatably mounted on the tip end portion of the bracket and contacting with one end portion of the work,
in a condition where the tip end portions of the pair of squeezing levers are projected into the recessed portion, both side end portions in the width direction of the work being caught by the tip end portions of the pair of squeezing lever and the recessed portion via the elastic sheet.
According to the present invention, the recessed portion is engaged with one end portion of the work, on which the adhesive tape is applied, the tip end portions of a pair of squeezing levers are projected into the recessed portion to catch the work by the tip end portions of the squeezing levers and the recessed portion via the elastic sheet to fold back the both side edge portions in the width direction of the adhesive tape applied to the work to fit on the latter. With maintaining this condition, the tape squeezing device is moved along the longitudinal direction with contacting the adhesive tape guide roller onto one side end in the width direction of the work to fold back both side edge portions in the width direction of the adhesive tape applied to the work to fit onto the side end portion in the width direction of the work.
In the tape squeezing device according to the first aspect of the present invention, a spring members may be respectively disposed to bias the tip end portions of the pair of squeezing levers away from each other.
The outer peripheral surface of the adhesive tape guide roller may be formed with a rubber-like elastic material.
The lubricating surface layer of the elastic sheet may be a cloth having flexibility.
According to the tape squeezing device by the first aspect of the present invention, with respect to the longitudinal direction of the recessed portion, the tilted portion, squeezing levers and so forth are formed symmetrically, and the base end portion of the bracket supporting the adhesive tape guide roller is pivoted at the center portion of the main body for pivot motion. Therefore, for the work having left-cut and right-cut, the tape squeezing device can be adapted to be used for any work by pivoting the bracket to simplify the mechanism to produce at low cost.
Furthermore, upon moving the main body along the work, the main body can be moved with maintaining the adhesive tape guide roller in contact with the work. Therefore, attitude of the main body relative to the main body can always be held constant to permit tape squeezing operation without any fluctuation.
A second aspect of the present invention is a tape squeezing device for folding back both side edge portions in a width direction of a strip form adhesive tape applied on a work to run the both side edge portions over both side end portions of the work, comprises:
a main body formed with a V-shaped first groove portion having an open angle, a V-shaped second groove portion having smaller open angle than the open angle of the first groove portion and a V-shaped third groove portion having substantially the same open angle as the open angle of the second groove portion, each the groove portions being apart from one another at predetermined interval; and
an expandable elastic sheet respectively contacting both side end portions of the work fixed to the main body and respectively covering the three grooved portions, and the elastic sheet having a cushion layer and a lubricating surface layer,
the third groove portion having a base end portion integral with the main body and a tip end portion pivotable toward and away from the base end portion for permitting to reduce the open angle to be smaller than that of the second groove portion.
According to the present invention, the first to third groove portions are pressed onto one end portion of the work, to which the adhesive tape is applied, and the tip end portion of the third groove portion is rotated in the folding back direction of the adhesive tape. Thus, the work is caught within the first to third groove portions to fold back the both side edge portions in the width direction of the adhesive tape applied on the work to fit onto both end portion in the width direction of the work. With maintaining this condition, the tape squeezing device is longed long longitudinal direction of the work to fold back the both side edges of the adhesive tape applied to the work to fit onto the both end portions in the width direction of the work.
In the tape squeezing device according to the second aspect of the present invention, the lubricating surface layer of the elastic sheet is a cloth having flexibility.
According to the tape squeezing device by the second aspect of the present invention, it is able to fold the adhesive tape in good shape without tilting, or pitching in motion direction, and to perform easily and quickly tape squeezing operation without requiring a skilled worker.
The above and the other objects, effects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following description of embodiments thereof taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.